Most corporations, when looking for ways to reduce overhead costs and increase employee output, are using satellite-based communications to significantly improve their communications and productivity. Today, Hollywood and Madison Avenue are also using satellite networks to strategically deliver content.

While the advent of digital technology has improved filmmaking and the movie-going experience, rising costs, long lead times and piracy issues are forcing production houses to revisit the way they deliver the latest blockbuster to the theater. A unique characteristic of digital movies is their size. A typical movie in the ultra-high format designed for theaters can be from 150 to 500 gigabytes. The only way to electronically delivery content of this size to thousands of theaters at the same time is with a satellite network.

Likewise, powerful digital signs are setting new standards for delivering targeted messaging to customers and employees. Satellite-enabled digital signage provides retailers, integrators and enterprises with a private network and the power to multicast rich multimedia content of any size to any location — without impacting an established network. In addition, using a satellite-enabled, direct-to-site network specifically built for delivering multimedia content can shave months of network design and implementation off a production cycle.

In fact, such technological innovation is driving down the cost of implementing digital signage as a marketing tool, spurring market adoption and further fueling the industry’s growth. According to the International Communications Industries Association’s 2005 Market Forecast Survey, the audiovisual industry — which includes digital signage — produced revenues of almost $19 billion in 2004 in North America. This number is expected to grow by an annual rate of 9.6 percent for the next five years.

Industries that take advantage of satellite delivery of content will see improved financial performance. Likewise, continued advancements with satellite-enabled technology will also magnify those gains in the future.